Here is the Dumb-Ass Op Ed from, who else, the - NYTimes, "Fire Up the Grill, Not the Atmosphere"

Did you know "FOOD is responsible for 10 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions."? This unsubstantiated and ridiculous percentage spread is just made up and thrown out as fact, Al Gore style. The NY Times Op Ed writer, Brian Palmer is not only making up nonsense about outdoor cooking for the 4th of July, he is typical of the Time's style, trying to undermine the basic patriotism engendered in the holiday. It infers that it is not only American jingoism that is abhorrent to the 'international community', it is also a major cause of global warming. So all you rubes celebrating July 4th, feel guilty, feel very guilty. You are not only bad for the planet, you are bad for the planet's community. ♘

Fire Up the Grill, Not the Atmosphere - NYTimes.com

By BRIAN PALMER June 29, 2011

[Excerpts]

FOOD is responsible for 10 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. By many estimates, cooking represents more of a meal’s carbon footprint than transport. For certain vegetables, it accounts for more emissions than agriculture, transport and disposal combined. ...

Consider potato salad: a pale mixture of boiled potatoes and mayonnaise that is sometimes appetizing but always wasteful. An overwhelming majority of the energy in boiling goes into heating the water rather than cooking the potatoes.

Direct-heat methods are more efficient and usually tastier. Cubed and pan-fried potatoes take just 10 minutes to cook and require less than one-third the energy of boiling. [Alert Michelle Obama, fried food, tisk, tisk.]...

Now for the burgers and dogs. First, a green disclaimer. Beef is an environmental disaster, no matter how you cook it. However, if you can’t resist grilled cow, your big decision is between charcoal and propane.

Charcoal is made of wood, so the carbon it releases upon combustion is approximately equal to the carbon the tree it came from once removed from the atmosphere. In theory, charcoal should be less damaging than propane, which releases carbon that has been sequestered harmlessly underground for hundreds of millions of years. ...

[If you wish to read more of this bovine gas, it is at the above link.]